Microsoft reportedly pulled the rumored Surface Mini at the last minute

When Microsoft(s msft) announced the Surface Pro 3 on Tuesday, a lot of people were surprised it didn’t announce a Windows RT-based “Surface Mini,” as had been rumored for weeks before the event. Microsoft did in fact have a Surface Mini in development but pulled it recently because CEO Satya Nadella and Executive VP Stephen Elop thought it “wouldn’t be a hit,” according to a report from Bloomberg. Nadella and Elop’s reported concerns echo what my colleague Kevin Tofel said last month when he reviewed the Dell Venue 8, a full Windows 8 tablet at the same likely size and price range as the unreleased Mini.

My problem with the rumored Surface Mini was the rumored RT it was to run on. I have a Surface RT and love the device but my biggest problem with it is that it’s RT. As noted with the Dell Venue 8 Pro, there is little reason to run RT, Atom is now powerful enough and battery sipping and cheap enough to make ARMs on Windows moot.